GUILFORD PICKED FOR NCAA GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS
Greensboro, NC (05/02/00) -- Guilford College's golf team earned a spot in the 2000 NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament for the eighth time in nine seasons, the NCAA announced Tuesday. The Quakers are one of 23 teams chosen by the Division III men's golf committee to the 120-player field, which competes for the national title May 15-18 at the Bedford Valley Golf Club in Battle Creek, MI. Methodist College is the six-time defending national champion of the 72-hole event.
A strong spring season pushed the Quakers into contention for one of the four NCAA-berths allotted to the south region. Guilford scored important spring victories over regional rivals from Emory, Oglethorpe and Savannah College of Art & Design, which greatly improved the Quakers' standing. Coach Jack Jensen guided his club to its fourth Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) title in nine seasons April 17-18, as Guilford scored a 21-stroke victory over the nine-team field.
Sophomore Andrew Biggadike (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood), the 2000 ODAC Player of the Year and co-medalist at this year's league tournament, paces the Quakers with a 74.81 stroke average in 21 rounds. He recorded six top-10 finishes in 12 events, and won the ODAC Tournament and a six-team ODAC match in March. Junior Clint Fields (Siler City, NC/Jordan-Matthews) and sophomore Andy Eversole (Greensboro, NC/Northwest Guilford), who shared medalist honors with Biggadike at the ODAC Tournament, also joined Biggadike on the All-ODAC and All-ODAC Tournament teams. Fields ranks second on the club with a career-low 75.77 stroke average, nearly two shots better than Eversole's 77.84.
Guilford returns to the NCAA Championship after a one-year absence, although Eversole placed 105th as an individual in 1999. Before last season, Guilford reached the NCAA tournament in each of its seven seasons of Division III membership and finished as high as fifth in 1997. Guilford qualified for 11 NAIA national tournaments in 15 seasons from 1977-91 before joining the NCAA and won the NAIA national crown in 1989. The Quakers have received national championship invitations in 19 of Jensen's 24 seasons as Guilford's head coach.
